Circuit device and method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

Provided is a circuit device in which encapsulating resin to encapsulate a circuit board is optimized in shape, and a method of manufacturing the circuit device. A hybrid integrated circuit device, which is a circuit device according to the present invention includes a circuit board, a circuit element mounted on a top surface of the circuit board, and encapsulating resin encapsulating the circuit element, and coating the top surface, side surfaces, and a bottom surface of the circuit board. In addition, the encapsulating resin is partly recessed and thereby provided with recessed areas at two sides of the circuit board. The providing of the recessed areas reduces the amount of resin to be used, and prevents the hybrid integrated circuit device from being deformed by the cure shrinkage of the encapsulating resin.

The application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application NumberJP 2010-287508 filed on Dec. 24, 2010, the content of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a circuit device and a method ofmanufacturing the circuit device. In particular the present inventionrelates to a circuit device in which encapsulating resin coats a circuitboard having a circuit element mounted thereon, and a method ofmanufacturing the circuit device.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 8 shows a hybrid integrated circuit device 100 of the related arthaving a structure in which an electric circuit mounted on the surfaceof a board 101 (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei11-340257). A conductive pattern 103 is formed on the surface of therectangular board 101 with an insulating layer 102 formed in between. Acircuit element 105 is fixed at a predetermined position on theconductive pattern 103, and thereby a predetermined electric circuit isformed. In this example, a semiconductor element and a chip element areconnected, as circuit elements, to the conductive pattern 103. A lead104 is connected to a pad 109 that is a portion of the conductivepattern 103 formed in a peripheral area of the board 101. The lead 104functions as an external terminal. Encapsulating resin 108 has afunction of encapsulating the electric circuit formed on the surface ofthe board 101.

The method of manufacturing the hybrid integrated circuit device 100 canbe summarized as follows. Firstly, a hybrid integrated circuit includingthe conductive pattern 103 and the circuit element 105 is mounted on thetop surface of the board 101. Then, the lead 104 is fixed, with asolder, to the pad 109 located in a peripheral area of the board 101.Then, the encapsulating resin 108 is formed to cover the board 101 andthe lead 104. The encapsulating resin 108 is usually formed by transfermolding using a mold. For the transfer molding, a mold with aninternal-wall shape corresponding to the external shape of theencapsulating resin 108 is firstly prepared, and the board 101 is placedin the cavity of the mold. Then, encapsulating resin in the form of aliquid is injected into the cavity, and thereby the top surface, theside surfaces, and the bottom surface of the board 101 are coated withthe encapsulating resin. Then, the encapsulating resin in the cavity iscured by heating. Then, the hybrid integrated circuit device 100encapsulated by the encapsulating resin 108 is taken out of the mold.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a case where the hybrid integrated circuit device 100 with theabove-described configuration is provided with a fixation portion forscrewing, which is formed of the encapsulating resin 108 projecting froma side of the board 101, a larger amount of the encapsulating resin 108is needed, which results in a higher cost.

The hybrid integrated circuit device 100 has another problem that cureshrinkage of the encapsulating resin 108 inflects the board 101 into aconcave shape in the view of FIG. 8. This is because a larger amount ofencapsulating resin 108 coats the top surface of the board 101 than thatcoating the bottom surface of the board 101, and accordingly a residualstress generated by the shrinkage of the encapsulating resin 108 islarger on the top surface of the board 101 than on the bottom surface ofthe board 101.

The hybrid integrated circuit device 100 has still another problem thatvoids, which are not filled with the encapsulating resin 108, maypossibly be formed under the board 101. Specifically, in order toimprove heat dissipation of the hybrid integrated circuit device 100 inuse, it is preferable to make the encapsulating resin 108 coating thebottom surface of the board 101 as thin as possible. For example, theencapsulating resin 108 coating the bottom surface of the board 101preferably has a thickness of 0.5mm or even smaller. Thus, the heatgenerated by the operations of the circuit element 105 is releasedsatisfactorily through the board 101 and the encapsulating resin 108coating the backside surface of the board 101. To achieve this, thedistance between the bottom surface of the board 101 and the internalwall of the mold in the process of resin encapsulation needs to benarrowed. Such a narrow gap, however, may possibly prevent theencapsulating resin 108 from fully spreading into this narrow gap, andas a consequence, may cause the formation of voids under the board 105.

The present invention is made in view of the problems described above,and aims to provide a circuit device in which encapsulating resin toencapsulate a circuit board is optimized in shape, and a method ofmanufacturing the circuit device.

A circuit device according to the present invention includes: a circuitboard having a conductive pattern and a circuit element mounted on a topsurface of the circuit board; encapsulating resin coating the topsurface, side surfaces, and a bottom surface of the circuit board; leadsfixed to the circuit board and each having an end drawn from theencapsulating resin; and a recessed area formed by recessing a portionof the encapsulating resin in a thickness direction at a side of thecircuit board.

A method of manufacturing a circuit device according to the presentinvention includes the steps of: preparing a circuit board having aconductive pattern and a circuit element mounted on a top surface of thecircuit board; setting the circuit board in a cavity of a set of moldsincluding an upper mold and a lower mold so that the top surface of thecircuit board faces an internal wall of the upper mold; and injectingencapsulating resin into the cavity through a gate, and thereby coatingthe top surface, side surfaces and a bottom surface of the circuit boardwith the encapsulating resin, in which a guiding portion is formed byprojecting downwards a portion of the internal wall of the upper moldlocated in a region between the circuit board and the gate, and theencapsulating resin is made to flow along the guiding portion into a gapbetween the bottom surface of the circuit board and an internal wall ofthe lower mold.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows diagrams illustrating a hybrid integrated circuit device, acircuit device of preferred embodiments of the invention. FIG. 1 A is aperspective view. FIGS. 1B and 1C are sectional views.

FIG. 2 shows diagrams illustrating the hybrid integrated circuit deviceof the preferred embodiments of the invention. FIG. 2A is a perspectiveview illustrating the same hybrid integrated circuit device that isillustrated in FIG. 1 A but is depicted upside down. FIG. 2B is asectional view of the hybrid integrated circuit shown in FIG. 2A. FIG.2C is a top view of a depressed area.

FIG. 3 shows diagrams illustrating the circuit board incorporated in thehybrid integrated circuit device of the preferred embodiments of theinvention. FIG. 3A is a perspective view. FIGS. 3B and 3C are sectionalviews.

FIG. 4 shows diagrams illustrating a method of manufacturing the hybridintegrated circuit device, the circuit device of the preferredembodiments of the invention. FIG. 4A is a perspective view. FIGS. 4Band 4C are sectional views.

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating the method of manufacturing thehybrid integrated circuit device of the preferred embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 6 shows diagrams illustrating the method of manufacturing thehybrid integrated circuit device of the preferred embodiments of theinvention. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating encapsulating resin formedin a manufacturing process. FIGS. 6B and 6C are sectional viewsillustrating the manufacturing process.

FIG. 7 shows diagrams illustrating the method of manufacturing thehybrid integrated circuit device of the preferred embodiments of theinvention. FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating encapsulating resin formedin a manufacturing process. FIGS. 7B and 7C are sectional viewsillustrating the manufacturing process.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view illustrating a circuit device of the relatedart.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION First Embodiment: Configuration of CircuitDevice

The configuration of a hybrid integrated circuit device 10 (circuitdevice) is described below by referring to FIG. 1. FIG. 1A is aperspective view illustrating the hybrid integrated circuit device 10seen from above. FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along the line B-B′in FIG. 1A. FIG. 1C is a sectional view taken along the line C-C′ inFIG. 1A.

As FIGS. 1A and 1B shows, the hybrid integrated circuit device 10includes a circuit board 12 and a hybrid integrated circuit including acircuit element 18 and mounted on top of the circuit board 12. Both thehybrid integrated circuit and the circuit board 12 are encapsulated withencapsulating resin 28. Leads 20 are connected to the hybrid integratedcircuit built in the hybrid integrated circuit device 10, and are drawnfrom the encapsulating resin 28.

The circuit board 12 shown in FIG. 1B is a metal substrate made mainlyof aluminum, copper, or the like. The planar size of the circuit board12 is approximately 2.0 cm×1.0 cm, for example. The thickness of thecircuit board 12 is approximately 1.5 mm, for example. If the circuitboard 12 is made of aluminum, both the top surface and the bottomsurface of the circuit board 12 are coated with alumite films formed byanodization. Each side of the circuit board 12 has sloping surfaces thatextend outwards. Specifically, two sloping surfaces are formed: a firstsloping surface 22 that extends continuously and obliquely outwards fromthe top surface of the circuit board 12; and a second sloping surface 24that extends continuously and obliquely outwards from the bottom surfaceof the circuit board 12.

An insulating layer 14 is foamed to cover entirely the top surface ofthe circuit board 12, and is made of a resin material filled denselywith granular filler such as alumina. The insulating layer 14 has athickness of approximately 50 μm, for example.

A conductive pattern 16 is formed by etching, into a predeterminedshape, a foil of copper or of a conductive material, attached to the topsurface of the insulating layer 14. In this embodiment, mount pads wherethe circuit element 18 is mounted are formed with the conductive pattern16. Wiring portions that connect the mount pads to one another are alsoformed with the conductive pattern 16. In addition, as FIG. 1B shows,pads 26 and 27 are provided each along one of two opposite sides of thecircuit board 12. The inner-side end of each lead 20 is soldered toeither one of these pads 26 and 27.

The circuit element 18 is mounted at a predetermined position on theconductive pattern 16 by using a conductive, bonding material such as asolder. A wide variety of elements are used as the circuit element 18.For example, passive elements such as chip capacitors and chipresistors, active elements such as transistors, or resin-encapsulatedpackages can be used for this purpose. If a power transistor, such as aMOSFET and an IGBT, is mounted as the circuit element 18, the transistoris mounted on a heat sink that is fixed to the top of the conductivepattern. Note that if a semiconductor element such as an IC is used, thesemiconductor element is connected to the conductive pattern 16 withmetal thin wires.

The encapsulating resin 28 coats the conductive pattern 16 and thecircuit element 18 that are formed on the top surface of the circuitboard 12. In addition, the single encapsulating resin 28 coats all ofthe top surface, the side surfaces, and the bottom surface of thecircuit board 12. The resin encapsulation including also that of thebottom surface of the circuit board 12 can prevent outside moisture fromreaching the circuit board 12 and thus can improve the moistureresistance of the device. The encapsulating resin 28 is made of a resinmaterial added with granular filler of alumina or the like. Some of thepossible resin materials that can be used to form the encapsulatingresin 28 are such thermosetting resins as epoxy resins and suchthermoplastic resins as acrylic resins.

In this embodiment, to improve the heat dissipation from the device as awhole, the encapsulating resin 28 coating the bottom surface of thecircuit board 12 is formed thinly to have a thickness T1 of 0.5 mm orsmaller. However, this structure poses a difficulty in spreading theencapsulating resin all over the area under the circuit board 12 duringthe process of resin encapsulation. This embodiment, however, solves theproblem by using a mold with a special shape. More details of thissolution will be described later by referring to FIG. 6.

As FIGS. 1A and 1C show, not only does the encapsulating resin 28 ofthis embodiment encapsulate the circuit board 12 but also portions ofthe encapsulating resin 28 extend outwards from the sides of the circuitboard 12. Specifically, portions of the encapsulating resin 28 extendoutwards from the shorter sides of the circuit board 12. In addition,the central portions of these extended portions of the encapsulatingresin 28 are depressed in a planar view, and thereby depressed areas 32Aand 32B are formed in the central portions. The depressed areas 32A and32B are used when the hybrid integrated circuit device 10 is screwed toa heat sink or to a mount surface.

In addition, as FIG. 1A shows, recessed areas 30A and 30B are formedrespectively on the two sides of the depressed area 32A whereas recessedareas 30C and 30D are formed respectively on the two sides of thedepressed area 32B.

The formation of the recessed areas 30A to 30D in the encapsulatingresin 28 can reduce the amount of the resin used for the encapsulatingresin 28. Consequently, the cost can be cut and the hybrid integratedcircuit 10 can be made lighter in weight. In the meanwhile, the portionsof the encapsulating resin 28 that surround the recessed areas 30A to30D have a thickness that is 1.0 mm or larger, which is large enough togive a mechanical strength that enables the screwing of the hybridintegrated circuit 10 at depressed areas 32A and 32B.

As FIG. 1C shows, not only do the recessed areas 30A and 30D exist inportions at the two sides of the circuit board 12 but also portions ofthe recessed areas 30A and 30D extend over parts of the circuit board12. Such a structure of the recessed areas 30A and 30D allows furtherreduction of the amount of the encapsulating resin 28 needed for theencapsulation of the hybrid integrated circuit 10. The other recessedareas 30B and 30C share the feature and the effect.

In addition, an inner side of each of the recessed areas 30A and 30D isnot a single plane but has a step-like structure. With this step-likestructure, the cure shrinkage of the encapsulating resin 28 coating thetop surface of the circuit board 12 can be caused dispersedly insurfaces with different angles of the encapsulating resin 28, andthereby the deformation of the circuit board 12 caused by this cureshrinkage can be reduced.

The structure of the hybrid integrated circuit device 10 is describedfurther by referring to FIG. 2. FIG. 2A is a perspective viewillustrating the hybrid integrated circuit device 10 of FIG. 1A upsidedown. FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along the line B-B′ in FIG. 2A.FIG. 2C is a top plan view illustrating the depressed area 32B and itsvicinity shown in FIG. 2A.

As FIG. 2A shows, cutaway portions 33 are formed by partially cut awaythe four corners of the encapsulating resin 28. To be more specific,each of the upper corner portions and its vicinity is cut away to formeach cut away portion 33. Each cutaway portion 33 has a cuboid shapeformed by cutting away each corner of the encapsulating resin 28 intothat shape. The formation of the cutaway portions 33 in the corners ofthe encapsulating resin 28 can prevent damages, such as cracks, of theencapsulating resin 28 even when an impact or the like is applied to thecorners of the encapsulating resin 28.

As FIG. 2A to 2C show, peripheral edge portions 46 are formed in a waythat portions of the encapsulating resin 28 around the bottom ends ofthe depressed areas 32A and 32B are extended inward of the depressedareas 32A and 32B. In a planar view, each of the depressed areas 32A and32B has a rectangular shape with rounded corners. The inner end portionof each peripheral edge portion 46 has a shape of a portion of a circleor of an ellipse corresponding to the shape of the columnar screw to beinserted in this depressed area 32A or 32B.

To put it differently, in the sectional view of FIG. 2B, the areas abovethe peripheral edge portions 46 and indicated by the dashed-dotted linesare removed. In order to simplify the external shape of theencapsulating resin 28, the side-surface portions of the encapsulatingresin 28 can be extended to the positions aligned with the inner endportions of the peripheral edge portions 46, without the peripheral edgeportions 46 additionally formed. In this embodiment, however, theencapsulating resin 28 is formed with the shape shown in FIG. 2B so thatthe bottom surface (the upper surface in FIG. 2B) of the circuit board12 can be coated thinly with the encapsulating resin 28. More details ofthis feature will be described later by referring to FIG. 6C.

The configuration of the circuit board that is built in the hybridintegrated circuit device 10 is described below by referring to FIG. 3.FIG. 3A is a perspective view illustrating the circuit board 12. FIG. 3Bis a sectional view taken along the line B-B′ in FIG. 3A. FIG. 3C is asectional view taken along the line C-C′ in FIG. 3A.

As FIG. 3A shows, the circuit board 12 has a rectangular shape with afirst side-edge 12A, a second side-edge 12B, a third side-edge 12C, anda fourth side-edge 12D. The conductive pattern 16 with a predeterminedshape is formed on the insulating layer coating the top surface of thecircuit board 12.

The conductive pattern 16 includes lands to which circuit elements areconnected and wirings that connect the lands to one another. Inaddition, pads 26 formed with portions of the conductive pattern 16 thatare formed into pad-like shapes are provided along the right-handside-edge (i.e., third side-edge 12C) of the circuit board 12.Furthermore, pads 27 are formed along the fourth side-edge 12D locatedon the opposite side of the circuit board 12 to the third side-edge 12C.

In circuit board 12, a side-surface shape of each of the first side-edge12A and the second side-edge 12B is different from a side-surface shapeof each of the third side-edge 12C and the fourth side-edge 12D.Specifically, the first side-edge 12A and the second side-edge 12B havea larger sloping surface on the lower side than on the upper side, butthe third side-edge 12C and the fourth side-edge 12D have a largersloping surface on the upper side than on the lower side.

The side-surface shape of the first side-edge 12A and the secondside-edge 12B in the circuit board 12 are described below by referringto FIG. 3B. Specifically, each of the four above-mentioned side surfacesof the circuit board 12 includes a first sloping surface 22 that extendscontinuously and obliquely outwards from the top surface of the circuitboard 12 and a second sloping surface 24 that extends continuously andobliquely outwards from the bottom surface of the circuit board 12. Ineach of the first side-edge 12A and the second side-edge 12B, the secondsloping surface 24 has a width that is larger than the width of thefirst sloping surface 22. For example, the second sloping surface 24 hasa width L2 of 0.4 mm whereas the first sloping surface 22 has a width L1of 0.1 mm. In addition, the second sloping surface 24 is longer than thefirst sloping surface 22 in the thickness direction as well. Forexample, the second sloping surface 24 has a length L4 in the thicknessdirection of 10.0 mm whereas the first sloping surface 22 has a lengthL3 in the thickness direction of approximately 0.2 mm. The circuit board12 has a total thickness L5 of, for example, 1.5 mm. This embodimentimproves the fluidity of the encapsulating resin 28 in the process ofresin encapsulation by forming the side surface of the first side-edge12A and that of the second side-edge 12B into the above-describedshapes. More details about this feature will be described later byreferring to FIG. 6A.

As FIG. 3C shows, the relative dimensions between the first slopingsurface 22 and the second sloping surface 24 in each of the thirdside-edge 12C and the fourth side-edge 12D are opposite those in each ofthe first side-edge 12A and the second side-edge 12B. Specifically, thewidth and the thickness of the first sloping surface 22 are greater thantheir respective counterparts of the second sloping surface 24. Forexample, the first sloping surface 22 has a width L6 of approximately0.4 mm, and a height L8 of approximately 10.0 mm. In addition, thesecond sloping surface 24 has a width L7 of approximately 0.1 mm, and aheight L9 of approximately 0.2 mm. Forming each of the third side-edge12C and the fourth side-edge 12D into the above-described shape has anadvantageous effect of preventing voids from occurring in theencapsulating resin 28 under the bottom surface of the circuit board 12during the process of resin encapsulation. More details about thisfeature will be described later by referring to FIG. 6B.

Second Embodiment: Method of Manufacturing Circuit Device

In this embodiment, a method of manufacturing the circuit device withthe above-described configuration is described by referring to FIGS. 4to 7.

Firstly, as FIG. 4 shows, grooves with a V-shaped cross section areformed in both the top surface and the bottom surface of a large-sizedsubstrate 34. FIG. 4A is a perspective view illustrating the substrate34 in which the grooves are formed. FIG. 4B is a sectional view takenalong the line B-B′ in FIG. 4A. FIG. 4C is a sectional view taken alongthe line C-C′ in FIG. 4A.

As FIG. 4A shows, the substrate 34 is a large-sized substrate from whichmultiple circuit boards can be formed. Dicing lines are drawn in alattice shape corresponding to the size of the circuit board to beformed from the substrate 34. A metal substrate made of aluminum or thelike is used as the substrate 34. Alternatively, the substrate 34 may bemade of a resin material such as glass epoxy, or may be made ofceramics.

In the top surface of the substrate 34, first grooves 36 and secondgrooves 38 are formed in a lattice shape. The second grooves 38 areshallower than the first grooves 36. In the bottom surface of thesubstrate 34, third grooves 40 and fourth grooves 42 are formed atpositions such that the third grooves 40 correspond respectively to thefirst grooves 36 and the fourth grooves 42 correspond respectively tothe second grooves 38. The third grooves 40, which correspondrespectively to the first grooves 36, are shallower than the fourthgrooves 42, which correspond respectively to the second grooves 38.

In the top surface of the substrate 34, each single board area 44 isdefined as an area surrounded by the first grooves 36 and the secondgrooves 38. Identical conductive patterns (not illustrated) are formedrespectively in the board areas 44.

As FIG. 4B shows, at the border between every two adjacent board areas44, one of the second grooves 38 is formed from the top surface and oneof the fourth grooves 42 is formed from the bottom surface. The secondgrooves 38 are shallower than the fourth grooves 42. Specifically, eachof the shallow second grooves 38 has a width L20 of approximately 0.2 mmand a depth L21 of approximately 0.2 mm. Each of the fourth grooves 42formed from the bottom surface of the substrate 34 has a width L24 ofapproximately 0.8 mm and a depth L23 of approximately 10.0 mm. Withinthe dimension in the thickness direction of the substrate 34, theportion left without any of the two grooves 38 and 43 has a thicknessL22 of approximately 0.4 mm.

As FIG. 4C shows, the first grooves 36 formed from the top surface aredeeper than the third grooves 40 formed from the bottom surface. Notethat the size of each first groove 36 may be the same as that of eachfourth groove 42 shown in FIG. 4B, and also that the size of each thirdgroove 40 may be the same as that of each second groove 38 shown in FIG.4B.

The substrate 34 with the grooves formed in the above-described processis divided at positions where the grooves are formed, and therebyindividual board areas 44 are separated from one another to be used asthe circuit board 12. The dividing of the substrate 34 may be done bybending the substrate 34 at each border between every two adjacent boardareas 44. Alternatively, the substrate 34 may be cut with a cuttingdevice such as a cutter, and thereby the board areas 44 may be separatedfrom one another to be used as the circuit boards 12.

After the separation of the board areas 44 from one another, circuitelements are connected to the conductive pattern 16 formed on the topsurface of each board area 44. Specifically, a semiconductor elementand/or a chip element shown in FIG. 1 may be soldered to the conductivepattern 16.

Then as FIG. 5 shows, the circuit boards 12 to each of which the circuitelement 18 is connected are fixed to a lead frame 50. The lead frame 50is a metal plate made of copper or the like with a thickness ofapproximately 0.1 mm and formed into a predetermined shape, and includesa frame portion 52 and support portions 53. The frame portion 52 has aframe shape, and forms the external shape of the lead frame 50. Eachsupport portion 53 bridges the lengthwise sides of the frame portion 52.An uppermost unit 56 shown in FIG. 5 includes the leads 20 each of whichhas an end connected to the frame portion 52 and also includes the leads20 each of which has an end connected to the corresponding supportportion 53. The unit 56 herein refers to the plural leads 20 that form asingle circuit device. Linking portions 62 (tie bars) are provided tolink together the vicinities of the leading-end portions of the leads20. The left-hand end portion and the right-hand end portion of eachlinking portion 62 are connected to the frame portion 52. Projectionareas 58 are formed in the frame portion 52 by projecting inwards someparts of the frame portion 52. The projection areas 58 thus formed arethe areas where the depressed areas 32A and 32B shown in FIG. 1A are tobe formed.

In this manufacturing process, end portions of the leads 20 are solderedto the pads 26 and 27 provided on the top surface of each circuit board12. Thus each circuit board 12 is fixed to the lead frame 50. In thisembodiment, three circuit boards 12 are fixed to the lead frame 50, andthe next manufacturing process, that is, the process of resinencapsulation is performed on the circuit boards 12 in this state.

In FIG. 5, dashed-lined circles indicate the positions where gates 82are formed. The resin used in a later process of encapsulating thecircuit board 12 is introduced through each of the gates 82. In theexample shown in FIG. 5, two gates 82 are formed at the two sides ofeach projection area 58, but only one of the two gates 82 may be formedinstead.

Then, as FIGS. 6 and 7 shows, each circuit board 12 is encapsulated withresin. The resin encapsulation in this manufacturing process is done bythe transfer molding technique using a set of molds.

The resin encapsulation performed in this manufacturing process isdescribed by referring to FIG. 6. FIG. 6A is a perspective viewillustrating the encapsulating resin 28 fabricated in this manufacturingprocess. FIG. 6B is a sectional view illustrating a set of molds takenalong the line B-B′ in FIG. 6A. FIG. 6C is a sectional view illustratingthe set of molds taken along the line C-C′ in FIG. 6A.

As FIG. 6B shows, a set of molds 66 used in this manufacturing processincludes an upper mold 68 and a lower mold 70. If the two molds 68 and70 are brought into contact with each other, a cavity 72 is formed as agap between the two molds 68 and 70.

A guiding portion 76 is formed by projecting downwards a portion of theupper mold 68 corresponding to the right-hand side portion of thecircuit board 12. The shape of the guiding portion 76 is formed bytransferring the shape of the recessed area 30A shown in FIG. 6A. To putit differently, the guiding portion 76 has a protruding shapecorresponding to the recessed shape of the recessed area 30A. Thisfeature is also applied to a guiding portion 78 located in an areacorresponding to the left-hand side portion of the circuit board 12. Theshape of the guiding portion 78 is formed by transferring the shape ofthe recessed area 30D shown in FIG. 6A.

The lower end portion of the guiding portion 76 is positioned below thelevel corresponding to the top surface of the circuit board 12. Thisstructure allows encapsulating resin 74 to flow smoothly downwards inFIG. 6B along the guiding portion 76. In addition, it is more preferablethat the lower end of the guiding portion 76 be positioned below thelevel corresponding to the upper end of the second sloping surface 24 ofthe circuit board 12. This structure has a larger effect of allowing theencapsulating resin 74 to flow along the guiding portion 76 to the areaunder the circuit board 12.

The set of molds 66 has a gate 82, a runner 73, and an air vent 71. Thegate 82 is an opening through which the encapsulating resin isintroduced into the cavity 72. The runner 73 is a route through whichthe encapsulating resin to be introduced into the cavity 72 flows. Theair vent 71 is a hole through which the air is discharged from thecavity 72 to the outside of the set of the molds 66. Either one gate 82or two gates 82 are formed for each single cavity 72 (see FIG. 5).

As FIG. 6C shows, protruding portions 84 and 85 are formed in the lowermold 70. The shapes of the protruding portions 84 and 85 are formed bytransferring the depressed areas 32A and 32B shown in FIG. 6A. The topsurfaces of the protruding portions 84 and 85 are in contactrespectively with the bottom surfaces of the projection areas 58 of thelead frame 50. The inner-side wall of each of the protruding portions 84and 85 is located on an inner side of the corresponding projection area58 of the lead frame 50. A space 77 is formed between the top surface ofthe vicinity of the inner-side end of the protruding portion 84 and thebottom surface of the upper mold 68. The height of the space 77 is thesame as the thickness of each projection area 58 of the lead frame 50.Likewise, a space 75 is formed between the top surface of the vicinityof the inner-side end of the protruding portion 85 and the bottomsurface of the upper mold 68. The height of the space 75 is the same asthe thickness of each projection area 58 of the lead frame 50. Theperipheral edge portions 46 shown in FIG. 2A and the like are formed byfilling the spaces 75 and 77 with the encapsulating resin.

Description is given below of a method of encapsulating the circuitboard 12 with resin by using the set of molds 66 with theabove-described structure.

Firstly, as FIG. 6B shows, the lead frame 50 to which the circuit board12 is fixed is placed on the top surface of the lower mold 70. As FIG. 5shows, three circuit boards 12 are fixed to the lead frame 50 of thisembodiment. The circuit boards 12 are set individually in cavity areasformed in the lower mold 70.

In addition, the frame portion 52 of the lead frame 50 of thisembodiment is placed so that the frame portion 52 can close thecorresponding groove-shaped runner 73 formed in the lower mold 70. Thus,the bottom surface of the frame portion 52 of the lead frame 50 becomesthe ceiling of the frame portion 52.

Then, the upper mold 68 and the lower mold 70 are brought into contactwith each other. Thus, each circuit board 12 is set in the correspondingcavity 72. In the meanwhile, the upper mold 68 and the lower mold 70clamp the frame portions 52 of the lead frame 50, so that the positionof each circuit board 12 within the corresponding cavity 72 isdetermined. In addition, the top surface of the circuit board 12 withthe circuit elements mounted thereon faces the internal wall of theupper mold 68. Furthermore, as FIG. 6C shows, the projection areas 58 ofthe lead frame 50 are brought into contact with the internal walls ofthe protruding portions 84 and 85 of the lower mold and with theinternal wall of the upper mold 68.

Then, the encapsulating resin 74 either in a liquid state or in asemi-solid state is introduced from an unillustrated pod through boththe runner 73 and the gates 82 into the cavity 72. The encapsulatingresin 74 is made of a thermosetting resin, such as an epoxy resin, addedwith inorganic granular filler, such as alumina. The encapsulating resin74 is heated to be in a molten state before being supplied to the set ofmolds 66.

Once the encapsulating resin 74 is introduced into the cavity 72, theencapsulating resin 74 flows along the side surface of the guidingportion 76, and then along the side surface of the circuit board 12.After that, the encapsulating resin 74 is filled into the gap leftbetween the bottom surface circuit board 12 and the internal wall of thelower mold 70. Once the filling of the encapsulating resin 74 into thisgap is finished, the encapsulating resin 74 is introduced into theportion of the cavity 72 located over the circuit board 12 toencapsulate, with resin, both the circuit board 12 and the circuitelements mounted on the top surface of the circuit board 12. As theresin encapsulation of this manufacturing process progresses, the air inthe cavity 72 is discharged to the outside through the air vent 71formed in the opposite side of the set of molds 66 to the gates 82.

Once the inside of the cavity 72 is filled with the encapsulating resin74, the encapsulating resin 74 is heated and cured in aheating-and-curing process. Then, the upper mold 68 and the lower mold70 are separated away from each other, so that the circuit boards 12each encapsulated with resin are taken out of the set of molds 66.

Once the process of resin encapsulation is finished, the leads 20 ofeach unit 56 are separated from either the frame portion 52 or thesupport portions 53 of the lead frame 50 as FIG. 5 shows. Thisseparation is done by a punching process using a die.

The hybrid integrated circuit device 10 whose structure is shown in FIG.1 is manufactured through the series of manufacturing processesdescribed above.

This embodiment is characterized in that the guiding portion 76 formedin the upper mold 68 of the set of molds 66 helps the encapsulatingresin 74 flow into the gap under the circuit board 12.

The guiding portion 76 provided in this embodiment directs the flow ofthe encapsulating resin 74 towards the portion under the circuit board12. As described earlier, the guiding portion 76 is formed by projectingdownwards a portion of the internal wall of the upper mold 68corresponding to the right-hand side portion of the circuit board 12.The right-hand side surface of the guiding portion 76 is a slopingsurface that slopes inwards towards the bottom. Accordingly, onceintroduced into the cavity 72, the encapsulating resin 74 flows alongthe side surface of the guiding portion 76 and thereby movespreferentially into the portion under the circuit board 12.

In addition, the gap between the end portion of the guiding portion 76and the circuit board 12 is narrow, and a part of the guiding portion 76that is formed into a step-like shape is located above the circuit board12. Hence, the encapsulating resin 74 introduced into the cavity 72 isprevented from being introduced into the space above the circuit boardbefore the space under the circuit board 12 is filled with theencapsulating resin 74.

In addition, the frame portion 52 of the lead frame 50 forms a part ofthe runner 73 in this embodiment, and thus the gates 82 are located athigher positions than the circuit board 12. In this embodiment, evenunder the conditions described above, the guiding portion 76 forces theencapsulating resin 74 to flow downwards, and thereby the space underthe circuit board 12 is filled with the encapsulating resin 74.

In addition, the circuit board 12 of this embodiment has side surfaceswith shapes that facilitate the downward flow of the encapsulating resin74. Specifically, as described earlier, each of the side surfaces of thecircuit board 12 includes the first sloping surface 22 and the secondsloping surface 24. In the side surface of the circuit board 12 that theintroduced encapsulating resin 74 is brought into contact with, thesecond sloping surface 24 is larger than the first sloping surface 22.To put it differently, the second sloping surface 24 has a larger areathan the first sloping surface 22.

Hence, the encapsulating resin 74 that has been introduced through thegates 82 into the cavity 72 and has moved along the guiding portion 76moves further along the second sloping surface 24 of the circuit board12 and then fills the gap between the circuit board 12 and the lowermold 70. Accordingly, the encapsulating resin 74 is introduced into thenarrow gap under the circuit board 12 without forming voids.

In addition, as FIG. 6C shows, the small distance between each of theprotruding portions 84 and 85 and the circuit board 12 in thisembodiment prevents the encapsulating resin 74 having flowed in theportion under the circuit board 12 from moving into the portion abovethe circuit board 12. Specifically, the protruding portions 84 and 85are provided to form the depressed areas 32A and 32B for screwing shownin FIG. 6A. So, if the external shape of the encapsulating resin 28needs to be simplified, the inner-side ends of the protruding portions84 and 85 have to be located at the same positions corresponding to theinner-side ends of the projection areas 58 of the lead frame 50 so thatthe shapes of the inner-side ends of the protruding portions 84 and 85can be fit to the screws to be inserted. The structure described above,however, widens each of the gaps formed between the inner side surfacesof the protruding portions 84 and 86 and the corresponding end portionof the circuit board 12, and the wider gap thus created allows theencapsulating resin 74 that has flowed in the portion under the circuitboard 12 to move into the portion above the circuit board 12. To preventthis movement of the encapsulating resin 74, the internal walls of theprotruding portions 84 and 85 of this embodiment are located atpositions inward of the end portions of the projection areas 58 of thelead frame 50. Accordingly, the gaps formed between the protrudingportions 84 and 85 and the corresponding end portions of the circuitboard 12 become narrower. Thus prevented is the movement of theencapsulating resin 74 from the portion under the circuit board 12 tothe portion above the circuit board 12 through the gaps. Consequently,voids can be prevented from being formed in the portion under thecircuit board 12.

Another configuration to prevent the flow of the resin is describedbelow by referring to FIG. 7. FIG. 7A is a perspective view illustratinga hybrid integrated circuit device 10 to be manufactured. FIG. 7B is asectional view of a set of molds 66 used in the resin encapsulationtaken along the line B-B′ in FIG. 7A. FIG. 7C is a sectional view of theset of molds 66 used in the resin encapsulation taken along the lineC-C′ in FIG. 7A.

As FIG. 7B shows, each of guiding portions 76 and 78 is formed byprojecting downwards a portion of an upper mold 68. A protruding portion84 is formed by projecting upwards a portion of a lower mold 70. Theprotruding portion 84 is located between guiding portion 76 and theguiding portion 78. The guiding portions 76 and 78 are used to formrespectively recessed areas 30C and 30D shown in FIG. 7A. The protrudingportion 84 is used to form a depressed area 32B shown in FIG. 7A.

In this embodiment, protruding portions 86 are formed by projectinginwards portions of the corners of the lower mold 70. The protrudingportions 86 are substantially cuboid-shaped portions formed by makingthe four corners of the internal walls of the lower mold 70 protrudeinwards. The forming of the protruding portions 86 allows cutawayportions 33 to be formed as shown in FIG. 7A. The upper end of eachprotruding portion 86 is preferably located above the lower ends of theguiding portions 76 and 78. With this structure, a larger effect ofguiding the flow of the encapsulating resin in a manner described belowcan be obtained.

The protruding portions 86 thus formed narrow the distances between theinternal walls of the lower mold 70 and each of the guiding portions 76and 78 in the regions where the protruding portions 86 are formed.Hence, the encapsulating resin 74 that has flowed in the portion underthe circuit board 12 (see FIG. 6B) is prevented from moving into theupper portion of the cavity through the gaps between each of the guidingportion 76 and 78 and the corresponding internal wall of the lower mold70. Also with this structure, the voids can be prevented from beingformed in a portion under the circuit board 12.

In this embodiment, as FIG. 7C shows, in each of the side surfaces ofthe circuit board 12 corresponding to the third side-edge 12C and thefourth side-edge 12D, a lower, second sloping surface 24 is smaller thanan upper, first sloping surface 22. Hence, as the internal-wall sidesurfaces of the lower mold 70 are sloping surfaces each of which becomeswider towards above, the gaps between the internal-wall side surfaces ofthe lower mold 70 and the corresponding end portions of the circuitboard 12 become smaller. Accordingly, the encapsulating resin 74 thathas been filled in the portion under the circuit board 12 is preventedfrom moving into the space above the circuit board 12 through the gaps.

According to preferred embodiments of the invention, a recessed area isformed at a side portion of the circuit board by recessing a portion ofthe encapsulating resin in the thickness direction. Hence, even if afixation portion for screwing or the like is formed in a portion of theencapsulating resin at a side of the circuit board, the necessary amountof the encapsulating resin can be reduced and the cost can be reduced aswell.

In addition, the providing of the recessed area at a side of the circuitboard has the following effect. Even if a stress is generated by thecuring by heating of the encapsulating resin coating the top surface ofthe circuit board, the circuit board 12 is reinforced by the recessedarea. Accordingly, the warpage of the circuit board by the stress can beavoided.

In addition, concerning the manufacturing method, as the guidingportions to guide the flow of the encapsulating resin introduced throughthe gates in the process of resin encapsulation are provided at the twosides of the circuit board, the encapsulating resin guided by theguiding portion flows into the portion under the circuit board. Hence,even if the gap between the internal wall of the mold and the bottomsurface of the circuit board is small, the small gap is preferentiallyfilled with the encapsulating resin. Accordingly, the voids can beprevented from being formed in the portion under the circuit board.

1. A circuit device comprising: a circuit board having a conductivepattern and a circuit element mounted on a top surface of the circuitboard; encapsulating resin coating the top surface, side surfaces, and abottom surface of the circuit board; leads fixed to the circuit boardand each having an end drawn from the encapsulating resin; and arecessed area formed by recessing a portion of the encapsulating resinin a thickness direction at a side of the circuit board.
 2. The circuitdevice according to claim 1, wherein the circuit board has first andsecond side-edges facing each other in the longer-side direction of thecircuit board, and third and fourth side-edges facing each other in theshorter-side direction, the leads are arranged along the first side-edgeand the second side-edge, and the recessed area is provided at a side ofeach of the third side-edge and the fourth side-edge.
 3. The circuitdevice according to claim 1, wherein a circuit-board-side surface of therecessed area has a step-like shape
 4. The circuit device according toclaim 1, wherein a portion of the recessed area is located above thecircuit board.
 5. The circuit device according to claim 2, furthercomprising a depressed area provided at the side of each of the thirdside-edge and the fourth side edge of the circuit board, the depressarea formed by depressing a portion of the encapsulating resin inwardsin a planar view, wherein the recessed areas are provided on both sidesof each of the depressed areas.
 6. The circuit device according to claim1, wherein cutaway portions are formed in corners of the encapsulatingresin.
 7. A method of manufacturing a circuit device comprising thesteps of: preparing a circuit board having a conductive pattern and acircuit element mounted on a top surface of the circuit board; settingthe circuit board in a cavity of a set of molds including an upper moldand a lower mold so that the top surface of the circuit board faces aninternal wall of the upper mold; and injecting encapsulating resin intothe cavity through a gate, and thereby coating the top surface, sidesurfaces and a bottom surface of the circuit board with theencapsulating resin, wherein a guiding portion is formed by projectingdownwards a portion of the internal wall of the upper mold located in aregion between the circuit board and the gate, and the encapsulatingresin is made to flow along the guiding portion into a gap between thebottom surface of the circuit board and an internal wall of the lowermold.
 8. The method of manufacturing a circuit device according to claim7 wherein the guiding portion has a bottom end located at a level belowthe top surface of the circuit board.
 9. The method of manufacturing acircuit device according to claim 7, wherein a portion of the guidingportion is located above the circuit board.
 10. The method ofmanufacturing a circuit device according to claim 7, wherein one of theside surfaces of the circuit board that faces the gate includes: a firstsloping surface extending continuously and obliquely outwards from thetop surface of the circuit board; and a second sloping surface extendingcontinuously and obliquely outwards from the bottom surface of thecircuit board and having a larger area than the first sloping surface,and the encapsulating resin is made to flow along the second slopingsurface of the circuit board in the step of injecting the encapsulatingresin.
 11. The method of manufacturing a circuit device according toclaim 7, wherein a portion of the lower mold protrudes inwards, therebydecreasing the gap between the guiding portion of the upper mold and theinternal wall of the lower mold.
 12. The method of manufacturing acircuit device according to claim 7, wherein the circuit board connectedto a lead frame is set in the set of molds, and a surface of the leadframe forms a portion of a runner through which the encapsulating resinto be supplied to the cavity flows.
 13. The method of manufacturing acircuit device according to claim 7, wherein the circuit board has firstand second side surfaces facing each other in a first direction, andthird and fourth side surfaces facing each other in a second direction,a plurality of leads drawn to the outside are fixed along both of thefirst side surface and the second side surface, and any one of the thirdside surface and the fourth side surface is placed near the gate of thecavity.
 14. The method of manufacturing a circuit device according toclaim 7, wherein the lower mold is provided with a protruding portion ata side of the circuit board, the protruding portion formed by protrudinga portion of the internal wall of the lower mold inwards of the cavityin a plan view, a projection area of the lead frame formed by projectinga portion of the lead frame inwards of the cavity is clamped by theupper mold and the protruding portion of the lower mold, and theinner-side end of the protruding portion of the lower mold is located onan inner side of the projection area of the lead frame.